nDesigns by Nancy Lee: Handmade Metal Jewelry and Objects

Artist Statement

My work is an experiment in emotion and hope, informed by everything I have ever experienced or imagined visually, aurally, viscerally, spiritually.

A leaf.

A sewer grate.

A vision.

A surprise.

What story in these can be expressed in metal?

What structure fabricated by human hand dares to inform the formless?

Can form create emotion?

Do I risk answers?

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Nancy Lee

Nancy Lee is a contemporary designer and accomplished metalsmith working in copper, silver, brass and gold. Her adventures in Metalsmithing began ten years ago at the Indianapolis Art Center (Indianapolis, IN) where she enrolled in Marilyn Smith’s Jewelry class to learn to make sterling findings for polymer clay beads she had created. She fell in love with the plastic qualities of metal and has been hooked since. Her work is now recognized for its minimalist style, body-conscious architecture and attention to detail. Work sometimes includes unusual semi-precious gemstones and found objects. Techniques include etching, heat-treatments, and various patinas to bring warmth and color to the metal.

Favorite examples of Lee’s design work and proficiency are displayed in the details of the pendants she often creates. Ancient Metalsmithing techniques are combined with modern treatments with unique results. Her signature minimalist style is often layered with many elements, incorporating multiple techniques in one piece while the ultimate result displays simplicity and harmony of design.

Lee was raised in a small Midwest town in Illinois, where she enjoyed a childhood of unlocked screen doors, playing alone or with her two sisters along nearby railroad tracks and clear streams at the edge of town. Her early propensity for art led her mother to enroll her in private art lessons at the tender age of eight years old, forming a basis of art fundamentals she utilizes to this day. She is the daughter of Lee and Roseanne Sherman of Georgetown, Illinois. Lee attended Danville Area College and Parkland College, where she studied biology and planned to teach at the secondary grade level. Lee currently resides in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Professional Services

Lee’s professional service includes teaching jewelry classes at the Indianapolis Art Center and at Flame Art Studios, her collaborative studio space she shares with  Jari Sheese of Fuego Loco Studio and woodworkers Nick Allman, Ted Ross, and Robin Long-Jordan. She was a key member of the organizing committee for Elegant Funk Art Show (IN). She is a member of Society of North American Goldsmiths, Society of American Silversmiths and a faculty member at the Indianapolis Art Center.